Gingerbread Chai

I was a little disappointed to see that this was the first tea in this year’s advent calendar only because I’m not the biggest fan of chai. I do like gingerbread and rooibos, though.. so I thought that I’d give this one a go. The first thing I noticed was the intense spiciness of the ginger. I can tolerate ginger in small amounts, but this was a little too strong for me. It had a very warming quality to it, so it would be nice to have on a really cold and snowy day. The ginger didn’t remind me of the kind of soft and sweet ginger that you’d find in gingerbread, though. I also thought that the other flavors in it were strangely sweet and unbalanced. Even though I wouldn’t purchase this in the future, I did finish the cup. I also appreciated the rooibos base and the different take on a gingerbready chai tea.

I wasn’t expecting much from this one because rooibos, but it somehow became a family favourite. My sister and mother both asked where this tea came from and when I could pick up more, which never happens; usually everyone’s on my case about too much tea!

Cardamom and ginger are the main spices (they actually give off a bit of real fire!), with a slightly sweet appeal. Needless to say, it tastes good in milk.

So that’s a winner, Bluebird Tea Co!

I needed something festive to help me feel the spirit of the season, and I needed something decaf to help keep my blood pressure and anxiety at a minimum throughout the holiday blitz. Throughout this winter season, I’ve been brewing Gingerbread Chai from Bluebird. This rooibos chai has many of the usual spice suspects: ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon. The cinnamon is the most prominent flavor, and I found myself wanting more of a ginger bite to make for a spicier chai. This tea is smooth and warming, with the baked-good quality of cardamom and cinnamon. Most notably, this tea also has mallow blossoms mixed in, which make for a unique visual style and which bring a certain floral, marshmallow sweetness to the tea. Now that I’ve survived the holidays, and everything is settling down, I am getting towards the end of this bag of tea. All things considered, Gingerbread Chai has served me well and I’ll keep an eye out for it next season.

Inspired by a Nordic city that builds lifesize gingerbread every year, this blend is full of the caramelised flavours of rooibos and carries the warming tang of ginger. The other ingredients aren’t obvious, but if you leave to steep for over 4 minutes the ginger becomes stronger and increases the spicy peppery element.

A little disappointing, especially as Bluebird blends are generally really tasty! Wouldn’t recommend, but only because I have recently tried better Gingerbread Rooibos (Kettleshed)

The resulting tea bares a sweet toasted Rooibos scent with spicy ginger and cinnamon undertones. It sort of does resemble a ginger biscuit (and those are my favourite!).

A few sips and I’m unsure what to write about first. While I can taste the sweetness from the Rooibos it’s also warming and fiery from the ginger. It’s almost deceiving at first, just as you think ‘Oohh it’s just another sweet Rooibos blend’ it grabs hold of you and intensifies in the back of the throat. All of this while mellowing into a ginger biscuit after taste with a hint of cardamom and cinnamon.Power and complexity is certain and this is not a blend for the faint-hearted.

As it cools slightly the sweetness relaxes and the spices come forward a little more. The balance of ginger, cardamom and cinnamon make it exotic and chai aromatic but the unmistakable ginger biscuit likeness lingers in my mind.

https://kittylovestea.com/2016/12/01/bluebird-tea-co-advent-calendar-of-tea-day-1/

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge – December Theme: Holiday Teason Tea #27

The advent for today!  I was intrigued earlier this year as they were selling the “old recipe” as I didn’t know there was a difference these days.  But I would probably prefer the old recipe… I don’t think I have ever tried the new recipe. 
Other holiday teas:  Angry Tea Room – advent Cinnamon Apple (28)

I actually decided to try this on an evening when I had quite a buggy belly – not sure if it was a bug or something disagreed with me at dinner, but I was feeling FIERCELY unwell. It was like an alien was trying to claw its way out of my tum tum. Awful.

Thus, functioning on the premise that, of course, ginger calms a tumultuous tum, I decided to brew up a cup of this for my evening drink.

It has the bonus of being caffeine-free, which I’m sure was the right decision, all things considered. I’m always a teensy bit weary of rooibos teas as I have to be in a very specific mood to fancy anything that tastes mostly like rooibos. As this is a spiced tea, though, I expected it would likely sit quietly in the background and let the gingerbread shine. And I was right, hooray! It’s got all the warmth and comfort of a lovely gingerbread, and the rooibos is present but quietly so. This is most certainly the nicest gingerbread-flavoured hot drink I’ve had the pleasure of drinking. Well done, Bluebirds!

Lovely scent and taste. Not too ginger-y but like a nice gingerbread cookie taste. I was glad the rooibos wasn’t too woodsy and allowed the gingerbread to really shine. This tea tasted good even after I poured the cup and left it in the kitchen for 2 hours. I drank it room temperature and it was fine. Sometimes rooibos teas can get too strong when they sit too long but this was good. I drank the next one hot and it was even more satisfying. The tea wasn’t very chai but that was really no problem for me.

Thanks NayLynn and Brandon for this tea.

Another sample from the kind Naylynn. Thank you!

Helloooooo, ginger! This chai is missing the “bread” part of gingerbread, but it has the ginger part down pat. The heat settles in the back of my throat which is nice. There is also a woody note from the rooibos, and I must admit that I like it with the spice. The combination is earthy and comforting.

Wow, this is not my thing. I like the idea but the red rooibos kills it for me. it has that medicinal cough syrup taste all over the base. Also, while this is super gingery, it is too fruity to be a chai I like. Thanks for letting me try it, NayLynn!